Meliad
Meliad (Mel for short) is the main supporting character in The Book of Falling, and acts as a sometimes sidekick, sometimes mentor to the hero, Gabriel Pope. Mel is a modern-day dryad, or more specifically a member of the Meliae, the nymphs of the ash trees. The name “Meliad” is actually a nickname of sorts, given to her by Gabe’s grandfather; her true name is a mystery. Mel has a complicated history spanning more than two centuries. Born from an ash tree in the woodlands of Rose County in the late eighteenth century, she was one of many of her kind whose tree was cut down by the first human settlers in the region. Unlike her sisters, Mel somehow survived the felling of her home tree, and her essence remained alive in the wood even after it was fashioned into a desk. Ninety years later in 1945, Jericho Pope, Gabe’s grandfather, purchased the desk and found Mel lurking inside the wood, still able to emerge and take human form. Taking her under his wing, he taught her to navigate the human world and, later, trained her to fight and aid him in his battles against the undead. Mel has now worked for the Pope Family for three generations, becoming not only a formidable warrior but also an expert in the political and criminal workings of the city—including much that’s unknown even to her comrades and allies. She is highly intelligent and often cynical, but fiercely devoted to her friends, and those she considers family. She acted as a maternal figure for Gabe in his younger years, and still considers him a kind of adopted son. She has recently adopted a similar role in the life of Will Grey. Although she has a mostly human appearance, there are several clues to Mel's true nature. Her hair is a light shade of mossy green, and her extensive wardrobe consists mostly of earth tones in green, brown and tan. She never wears shoes, as she needs to be in constant physical contact with her surroundings. Mel has been shown to have a number of supernatural powers, mostly related to her relationship with wood - she can experience the "memories" of a building or a wooden artifact through touch, and has a form of telekenesis which allows her to manipulate wooden objects. She is still bound in spirit to the wood in her desk, to which she returns to rest every night. Much about Mel is still a mystery, even to her closest friends. Her history will be explored further in the tenth story, "Splinters." Weapons of choice: Mel naturally has a penchant for wooden weapons, including stakes, and often fights with a pair of tonfa with the short ends sharpened into stabbing weapons. She carries a 1911 P12 Compact, and is also handy with a shotgun. Until recently she had a .357 Derringer as a backup weapon. Mel first appears in "Blood Will Out," and has featured in all of the stories in the series.